The Greatest Lost Treasure

Chapter 1

     Luke tentatively reached for the door handle a lump forming in his throat. He was not ready for this, but was anyone ready to say goodbye to their dying grandmother? He didn't think so.
     The boy took one last look down the hall before entering the room.
     His worst fears were realized when he looked upon his grandmother lying in her king sized bed. She was ghostly pale with a tinge of grey on her cheeks, though she had tried to cover it up with makeup which just made her look more like a skeleton than anything else. His grandmother was all about appearances, even today on her deathbed she had her hair done and she was wearing one of her velvet dresses.
     She noticed her grandson enter the room and stopped speaking to a tall thin man with slicked back hair and a briefcase in hand. He nodded and patted her on the hand before leaving the room.
     "Come closer dear," she said taking in how scared he looked. She felt bad for the boy having been raised by her hot headed son and his semi-present wife. Maybe if she had remarried after her late husband's death he would've turned out differently, but there was no point of thinking about the past. What was done is done. All that mattered now was her grandson and his future.
     As Luke approached his grandmother's bedside, he noticed the extent of her medical treatment. She had several tubes coming out of her body and connecting to many different machines to check her oxygen, heart rate, pulse, and other bodily functions.
     Fearing her grandson might run out of the bedroom door, she reached for his hand and held it.
     "I know you're scared and upset, but I'm going to a better place."
     Luke nodded his head trying to choke down the tears that threatened to drown him. He knew she needed to finally rest, so she wouldn't suffer anymore, but selfishly he wanted her to stay here with him.
     "Before I go, I need to share something important with you."
     Her grandson listened intently. What would she need to tell him?
     "Many generations ago our ancestors were explorers. They would travel all over the world to discover parts that no one knew existed. One day your great-great-great grandfather, maybe a couple more greats in there somewhere, met a man named Christopher Columbus."
     "The Christopher Columbus!" Luke exclaimed.
     "Yes, the one and only." She chuckled before continuing. "Now when Henry met Columbus, he didn't know who he was and he didn't care. All he did know was he was a fellow explorer like himself. Eventually the two became friends and traveled the world together until one day Christopher Columbus realized his life was in danger and he decided to let his friend in on his secret before he was killed. Apparently King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I did not send Columbus to expand Spain's trading network as history tells us, but instead they used it as a cover to have him look for King David's treasure. And he had finally found it and all this time they had been traveling together, he had been leaving behind clues for his family to follow so they could find it when it was safe to do so."
     Luke's grandmother then pulled a key out of her gown's pocket and handed it to him.
     "Luke. I've spent an unforeseen amount of years searching for this treasure and following the clues. I've also made some good money from it as well. This key unlocks a private part of my library where I have done all my research on trying to follow the clues they've left behind. I want you to find the treasure. Will you do this for me?"
     "Yes Grandma," he replied hanging on to her every word.
     "Good," she said as the strength began to leave her body. "And remember no matter what your parents tell you, I love you very much."
     With that she closed her eyes. Luke watched her labored breathing and stepped out of the room. He didn't want to see her in her final moments, he wanted to remember her as the strong, caring, and adventurous grandmother he knew and loved. And now it was his turn to have his own adventure one that he wished she could be there for.